The Eagle of the Ninth

Marcus and Esca leave the dun a few hours later, once the thunderstorm from last night is over. They ride slowly the second day, knowing that the priest will have discovered the missing Eagle and that the tribe will be after them soon. Sure enough, a half-dozen warriors appear, racing after Marcus and Esca. Dergdian and Liathan dismount, looking angry, and say they’re here to take back their Eagle. As Vipsania and Minna rear in panic, Marcus insists the tribesmen search their packs. Watching a man rummage roughly through his salves, Marcus reminds Dergdian that he healed his son and asks that the searchers be gentler. Finally, when the search turns up nothing, Dergdian invites Marcus and Esca to return with them so they can make up for offending them. Marcus declines, and the tribesmen ride off.

Esca asks if they should leave the Eagle where it is, but Marcus refuses. He’s just sad that they’ve shamed the tribesmen. They ride on until they get close to a village, and Esca pretends to be sick with a fever. Marcus asks the headman for a private hut so that he can use magic to save Esca from the “devils in his belly.” It’s not safe for anyone to see the magic, which the tribesfolk accept. They offer Esca and Marcus an unused cow-byre. After eating, when it’s dark, Esca slips out to head back and retrieve the Eagle. Marcus stays in the hut, occasionally muttering and saving food from the villagers for Esca to eat when he returns. On the third night, Esca returns with the Eagle.

While Esca eats, he describes his journey. He hid from two groups of warriors who took boats across the loch, carrying war spears. Still, fetching the Eagle was almost too easy. Marcus and Esca leave the village before dawn, escorted part of the way by a young boy. The terrain is rough, and a storm is rolling in—but it’s a windy one, which will keep the mist away. They don’t light a fire. Marcus can’t shake the feeling that this is all too easy. He tells himself he’s being silly, but he impulsively unwraps the Eagle. It’s in Marcus’s cloak—and Marcus’s distinctive brooch has been ripped off the end. Esca recalls dropping it, many tribesmen saw Marcus, as Demetrius, wearing it, and it’s a distinctive design. They’ll easily put two and two together.

Esca notes that the tribes will realize that he went back—if Marcus takes Vipsania and runs for it, he’ll make it. Esca will stay here, lie to the tribesmen, and they’ll kill him. Marcus dismisses this idea, insisting that his only goal is that the Eagle doesn’t stay in Caledonian hands. They’ll stick together and destroy the Eagle if need be.